Coles settles dispute on employment agreement

Coles will begin renegotiating its retail agreement after settling an employee-led challenge to its existing employment agreement.

An employee of the supermarket giant launched action in July last year with the Fair Work Commission to terminate its 2011 retail agreement.

However, in a strange show of unity, both the company and three unions covered by the agreement all opposed its termination.

After being subject to a number of hearings since then, the most recent of which occurring in October 2017, the claimant has since dropped the application for dismissal as part of a settlement agreement with Coles.

It is understood the parties will now begin negotiating a new retail agreement covering the company’s thousands of workers nationwide.

Fast food chain Domino’s recently found itself facing a wage hike of around $50 million as its existing enterprise bargaining agreement (EBA) – which paid workers below award rates – was terminated, with a new one due to be implemented by January 2018.